Enter the Brawl!
by IRRaccoon
Summary: When 17 year old Renee Beauregard is kidnapped,by the STRANGEST man she's ever seen, she will go to incredible lengths to get back home, and maybe save this strange new world. But then again, what can a normal girl do? You'd be surprised, and so will she.
1. New Challenger

"Don't forget your chores!"

"Okay, mom!" Renee stressed and turned her music up to the point where any noise around her was reduced to a mumble. Her mother called back a half-hearted goodbye and left through the door with her younger children following. Renee waited to hear the door shut and put down her book and music. "Ugh, stupid family..." she muttered, "Why pay to watch the meteor shower in a parking lot when you can watch it here for free?"

Continuing her pessimistic thoughts, she got up from the armchair and proceeded for the back door. A chilling wind blew gently into her face when she opened it. It's freezing out here, she thought, Maybe I should just watch from the windows? Just as she began to turn around, she heard a small sound. She looked up and saw the meteor shower had begun. Streaks of bright light fell fast toward the earth. Standing there in awe of the beauty, she didn't notice an extremely odd meteor flying at her left. Renee didn't see it until it flew closer. Somehow, it had caught her eye. Immediately she ducked down as the meteor flew over her head and crashed into the yard. It kicked up a swirling cloud of dust.

With only a moment's hesitation, Renee jumped off of the porch and ran toward it. As she got closer and the dust cleared, she saw it wasn't a meteor at all. Something she hadn't seen before. Some sort of pod...? Suddenly it opened and she stood dead in he tracks. Then, somebody jumped out. He didn't seem to take much notice of Renee and turned around to face the pod.

"Gah!" he shouted, "Almost busted this thing! Ah, can't imagine what Bowser's do if I did! Even worse, Master hand would _kill_ me! The stupid atmosphere messed with my flight pattern!"

"Er, excuse me, sir." Renee interrupted. He jumped and turned toward her, and she saw he was quite short and stout, with a ridiculously large nose centered over a zigzagged mustache.

"Why you, how long you been standin' there?" he fumed. Renee drew back a bit, not sure if she wanted to answer him. Luckily, a small beeping sound gave her an excuse not to. The man in front of her looked at a device on his wrist. Someone's voice barked at him through it.

"Wario, Bowser's lost your signal. Wherever you are, you need to get to the Halberd immediately!"

Wario flustered a bit before offering a reply. "Keep your mask on, Meta Knight." he barked, "I gotta take care of something, then I'm on my way." He pressed a button on the device and reached into the pod. Renee began to wonder what he was searching for.

"So, er, your name's Wario? Hm, kinda weird." she pondered uneasily. Not a second later, she was staring down the barrel of a square, cannon-like gun. "Wh-what's...this?" she stammered.

At the other end, Wario smiled. "You've seen a little more than you were supposed to, girlie." he said. The last thing Renee saw was his stubby fingers pulling the trigger.

And then, the first thing she remembered was a blinding white light. Once it cleared, she saw the gloomy sky above her and the trail under her. Birds chirped, and a storm churned in the distance. Then, someone was shouting. "Look what you've done! Bowser'll have my hide for this!"

She recognized the voice...Immediately she sat up and shouted, "Wario!" He jumped when he saw that she was up and his face went red with anger.

"Lombardi!" he shouted, "Don't you forget this.'' His eyes focused on something past her and he ran away, toward a nearby clump of trees He quickly disappeared among them.

"Lombardi?" Renee muttered. She turned herself around in time to see the one who saved her put a strange gun into his belt...Some sort of bird-man? He held a hand out to Renee.

"Need help?" he asked. She nodded and let him pulled her up.

"Thanks Mr...uh, Lombardi was it?"

"Falco Lombardi, and don't mention it." he replied.

"No, really, I-"

"Ever." he finished and began to walk away.

"W-wait!" Renee shouted. When he ignored her, she ran after him and took a grip on his arm.

"Hey!"

"Where am I?" she demanded. He pulled away from her and brushed his arm off.

"Planet Rycon, Lylat System." he answered, "Wario brought you here from Earth, right?" Renee tried to remember, which at first resulted in a massive headache.

"Yeah...He landed in by backyard and hit me with some type of gun..."

"A dark cannon." Falco said, "If you're hit with its black arrow, you're turned into a life-size trophy of yourself."

At this, Renee drew back. "So, I was a _trophy_?" she asked.

He nodded and resumed walking. "I've never seen such a blank look on someone's face." he scoffed, "Anyway, why are you still following me? Just because I saved you, that doesn't mean I want you trailing me like some lost puppy." He picked up his speed in an attempt to leave her behind. Renee easily matched his pace.

"Hold up! When someone's in a weird new place, someone's gotta show them around."

Falco stopped to think. "Alright. So, you want a guide or something?" He continued when she nodded, "Fine. I know someone in West Field. You want a guide, he'll do it. Come on."


	2. The Brawl Begins

(_Yes, I realize it's been a LONG while. So, sorry to anyone who actually anticipated this! I'm sure there are a few grammatical errors in here, so I'm sorry about that too...Heh, no one's perfect, right?)_

Oh goodness, Peach thought. this place is something else! The stone ruins around her were crumbling. Each pillar appeared as if it could collapse at any second. Grayish-white clouds concealed the sun. "It's certainly not like home...But it's beautiful all the same," she said quietly.

"Excuse me."

At the new voice, Peach looked up. What she saw startled her. A young woman had jumped down from the top of the ruins. She landed gracefully in front of Peach. "I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule. I demand to know your name and reason for being here."

While a bit shocked by the sudden order, Peach nonetheless answered heartily. "My name, miss, is Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom." She gave a small curtsy before continuing. "And it's wonderful to see you again."

Zelda smiled a pleasant smile. "It certainly has been a while, hasn't it? A friend's company can be rather hard to enjoy when the situation is overshadowed with darkness. How have Mario and Luigi been?"

"Oh, fine, fine. It took a month to clean up the incident, but since then, it's been back to normal for all of us." Peach replied. "Now, I was wondering if you could help me get home. I was looking for Mario and it seems I've wandered a bit too far."

"Of course. Why don't I-"

Zelda cut herself off and-for whatever reason-pushed Peach away. The younger princess landed on the ground with a thud. "Zelda!" she shouted. "What are you doing?" Then, without warning, she saw the bombs sprout up from where she once stood.

"Get help" were the only words Zelda could choke out before the ground in front of her exploded. Peach covered her face in preparation for the oncoming smoke. Once it cleared, Zelda had vanished.

"N-no! Zelda, where are you?" Peach cried." I...I'll find help. I promise!" With these final words, she ran from the ruins and toward a place where she knew she could find help.

On to Castle Siege.

**Elsewhere...**

Renee stretched as she and Falco walked out from the densely packed trees. "The plants in that forest were a little too close for comfort, huh. I suppose I forgot to mention I'm a bit claustrophobic? But seriously, there's no room to swing a cat in there."

"Do you _ever_ shut up?" Falco asked. Renee didn't answer him as she checked the new surroundings. They stood at one end of a circular field. Thin, tall grass swayed in a gentle wind. The sky above still showed signs of a storm, now passed.

"I bet this place is really pretty when the sun is out, huh?" Renee mused while she played with the purple ribbon that held up her hair. "So, um, where's this friend of yours?"

Falco examined the area and hardly acknowledged her when he answered the question. "Around, somewhere. He's not usually late, and this is the time of day when he comes through on his run."

"He runs?"

"Does he ever."

Not a second later, a blue blur sped between them and nearly knocked Renee over. "H-hey!" she yelled. "Watch it!"

The blur sped past again and ran circles around her. "If you're planning on stopping me, you'd better step it up. Come on!"

Falco called out from the sidelines. "Slow down, Sonic," he said. "She's with me."

Sonic stopped while right in front of Renee. "Falco, never tell me to slow down," he said and smirked. "Thought you knew me better. Nice to see ya, though."

"Hey, wait," Renee interrupted, "Is this who you were talking about?" Falco nodded.

"Now that the two of you are...somewhat acquainted, I should get going." he said. He turned away to leave when he remembered something. "Hey, Renee, you'll need a way to defend yourself. Something tells me you're not smart enough to keep yourself out of trouble." he stated. In his possession were two guns. After taking one out, he walked back and handed it to her. "This doesn't fir lasers or bullets or anything like that," he told her. "Press the trigger, and you get a whip of energy shooting from the barrel."

Without thinking twice, Renee pointed the gun away from him and pulled the trigger. A whip of orange energy flew out and wrapped itself around a clump of grass. "W...wicked!" she cried when the whip released and shot back into the barrel. "How'd you find this?"

"One of my partners found it about a month ago," he answered. "Somewhere on a place called Brinstar. He figured somebody dropped it."

"Thanks, Falco," Renee said and watched him as he left.

"Don't mention it," he said and vanished into the forest.

She sighed at his final words. "Ever," she muttered with a hint of resentment. She found him to be a bit rude.

Sonic approached and faced her. "So," he said, "I get the feeling you're not from around here. Tryin' to get home?"

"Uh, y-yeah. But first, I wanna put that brute Wario out of commission!"

"Huh? Just Wario?"

"Well, yeah," she confirmed. "Wait, are there...more?"

He nodded and began to explain. "Yep. Bowser, Ganondorf, Wolf, and Master Hand. A few others...And Meta Knight..." he said irritably.

"When Wario crashed, he mentioned some of those guys, then talked to that Meta Knight guy on a device of some sort. You, uh, don't seem very fond of him," Renee pointed out.

"Well hey, I've got no reason to be," Sonic replied with a shrug. "He was a teammate during what we like to call the Subspace Emissary. After that, he rebuilt his ship and-to be blunt-betrayed us and became a bad guy for unknown reasons."

Renee listened intently, but couldn't resist the urge to interrupt. "What's the Subspace Emissary?"

He didn't seem to mind her question. "The disaster of the Subspace invasion. Maybe I'll explain later," he said.

A few seconds of silence had taken place. They gave Renee a chance to contemplate what she just heard. "I wonder...Could it be happening again, Sonic?" He didn't give much of a response. "Sonic?"

"Who knows?" he asked passively.

"I'd like to!" she exclaimed. "And I, um...Guess I want to help. Stop it, I mean."

Sonic smiled. "Sweet," he answered. "In that case, we should make our first order of business boarding the Halberd. That's Meta Knight's airship."

"Hey, if it's an airship, then how are we going to get on it?" Renee asked.

"Well, I hope you know that it won't be too convenient. I'll bet you've never heard of the Dragoon, have you? There are three pieces. We collect 'em, put them together, and fly on up. What do you say?"

Renee sighed. "If there's no other way up right now...Let's head out."

**Elsewhere...**

"Hey, hold it!" Fox shouted and took a step back. "I'm not here to fight."

The arm cannon in front of him lowered. He could see Samus's eyes behind the visor of her helmet. "Fox?" she said quietly, "Sorry. Guess I didn't recognize you at first."

"How can you not?"

"What are you doing here?"

He brushed himself off a bit before answering. (Samus had previously knocked him down) "I picked up a transmission interference on the Great Fox. For some reason, it originated from these ruins. It wasn't you, was it?"

Samus shook her head and looked around. "No. But in a place like this, what could it possibly be?"

Their answer came with a demonic voice from behind them. "Prepare yourself."

Fox drew his blaster. "Bowser!"

Samus prepared herself as well. "How were you able to cause an interference?" "Simple. It was sent from the Halberd. I had to get you fools here somehow." The massive koopa king motioned his army over the nearby hill. All at once, what must have been a hundred of the turtle-like creatures-known as koopas-charged forward. "And remember, I only need that girl!" Bowser growled. "Without his Arwing, that canine is useless. If he can't attack from the air, he poses no threat."

"That's what you think!" Fox shouted.

Not a second passed when a small and sudden explosion caused a section of the koopas to scatter. They recovered rapidly and the majority gathered around Samus. "Get lost!" she shouted and fired at them.

"Hang on!" Fox yelled and fought his way through to help her. But then, he saw the gelatinous objects clutched within the koopas' claw, and he realized what they were. By the time he did, it was too late. The gooey bombs is each grip exploded, covering the area around Samus with smoke. Her sudden cry of surprise was cut short. Fox realized before the smoke cleared that somehow she had disappeared.

"Bowser!" he shouted, turning in his direction. "I don't know where those turtles of yours took her, but I know I'll find a way to locate her."

"Bowser stomped off past a low hill to the side. "Koopas, come." he growled. His minions formed lines behind him and followed. Fox ran over towards the shallow hill and watched him go.

"Hey, hold it!"

The order was ignored. It appeared that instead of listening Bowser reached the end of the hill and traveled a bit further, then turned left and hid behind another. He looked over a round stone pavement. On the other side stood a wave-shaped drop off of about twelve feet with an indented lean-to. At first, Fox didn't realize what had caught the Koopa King's attention. It didn't take him long to notice an old ally standing on top of the drop-off, and a newcomer a few feet in front of the lean-to.

Renee pushed herself off of the ground. "Oww..." she moaned.

"Hey," Sonic called from atop the overhang. "You alright down there?"

Renee nodded and called back up, "As alright as possible when caught off guard like that. I'm surprised I didn't break my leg." Her gaze fixated on the paved area in front of her. "It's...like an arena..." she murmured. "Sonic, check this place out! It looks like it's begging to see a fight."

"Well...why not give it what it wants?"

The almost demonic voice came from almost out of nowhere. A pair of horns was the first thing to appear over the shallow hill at one end of the arena. Soon the full figure came into view. What looked like a mutated turtle inched closer and stopped in the middle of the pavement. "So," it growled. "this is what got away from Wario?" He sped forward without warning and swiped cruel claws at Renee. "Pathetic."

She backed up against the wall of the overhang.

"Bowser, keep those claws off of her!" Sonic shouted.

Renee's voce broke as she attempted to buy herself some time. "What are you...? Some sort of...low budget movie monster?" she managed to choke out.

Bowser ignored the comment and raised his claws for another attack. In turn, Renee brought her hands to her face and prayed he would finish quickly. Suddenly, she thought she heard a blast. She looked up and saw the Bowser had fallen to the side from an impact. "S...Sonic?" she cried and looked up.

"Wasn't me."

"Then who..."

With a glance to her right, she saw what had happened. There stood a fox with garb similar to Falco's, his ray gun releasing a small wisp of smoke.

"Hey, Fox!" Sonic called. "Nice of you to join the party!"

"I'm not staying long." Fox replied.

Bowser regained himself to face him. "You? Heh...A sneak attack is a dirty thing you know. How were you and I ever allies, even for a moment?"

"You're one to talk. You snuck up on Samus!" Fox said and took aim.

"...True. However, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. She has the reflexes of a-"

In an instant, Renee had her whip wrapped around Bowser's snout. "Bite your tongue," she said and pulled down, causing him to collapse to the ground. Being sure to keep him in this position, she glanced over at Fox. He wore a reluctant thanks in his expression as he prepared his gun once again. Renee fixed her gaze on Bowser again and whipped her own gun to the side before the whip was brought back into the barrel, causing the monster to turn and hit the pavement. He stood as soon as the grip was released.

"Koopas!" he roared. "They aren't worth my time. Destroy them!" Almost at once, an army of creatures resembling turtles marched over the hill from which Bowser had made his appearance. For his escape, he cleared a path through his army and marched off. Koopas swarmed everyone on the ground. Sonic jumped down from the ledge. Smiling, he curled up into a ball and dashed through the group of koopas with incredible speed. Each one he hit was knocked down or hurled away. He came to a halting stop in the middle of the crowd.

"Think you can take us? Sorry, but you're too slow!" he taunted and continued his attack.

"Gotta give him points for efficiency..." Renee murmured in admiration. Abruptly, something hit her from behind and sent her to the ground. "H-hey!" she stammered and got up quickly. The koopa behind her hid in its shell and thrust itself forward, hitting her again. She was ready this time. She turned, caught it, and pushed it back. More force had been placed in the counter than she thought; the minion rolled back and hit the overhang.

Immediately however it bounced back and hit her legs, causing her to fall again. She sat up and watched it roll out of sight.

A koopa next to her was hit with a blast and tucked into it's shell before hitting the pavement. Renee turned towards Fox as he shot two more down. "Get rid of those shells," he ordered.

She didn't ignore him. She quickly took up the closest hidden koopa in her hands and threw it towards the rest, causing them all to move away at a rapid pace. "Where are they all going to end up?" she asked while she eyed one near Fox.

"Who cares?" he said passively.

"Watch out!" Renee said over excitedly.

A simple blast was all it took to fell the small turtle creature. "You seem a little too giddy to be in a melee. First time?" Fox asked.

"...Maybe."

Renee wasn't about to be taken too lightly by someone she had just met. Looking into the crowd of koopas, she picked one out and fired her gun, drawn when the arena had been flooded with the creatures. The whip wrapped around its neck. Suddenly, the cowardly koopa slipped into its shell. Just like the rest...Renee thought. "Oh no you don't..." She waved the gun around and the koopa was throw in circles until she decided to retract the whip. The koopa went flying into several others. Smiling slightly at her work, she turned to see how Fox and Sonic were doing. Fox kicked a koopa hard enough to send it flying over the horizon. Sonic was keeping up his attack, spinning and running all over the place. Well, it was one way to get it done.

Fox suddenly spoke to her. "Don't get too distracted, kid," he said irritably. He made a quick motion towards the nearby cliff. "With Paralyzer, you may be able to fight these things from a distance. I'll hold these guys off for you. You just focus on getting up there."

"Uh, got it!"

As Renee made her way over, Fox held the guarantee. He shot at each koopa in her path. It didn't take long to reach the overhang and she began to climb. The koopas that remained seemed to ignore her at this point. Yet, once she was no more than three feet from the ground, an odd noise was heard behind her. Fox yelled something in her direction, but she didn't quite pay attention. Something about an attack?

Keeping a firm grip on the rocks, she glanced behind her to see a small group of what looked like koopa skeletons. She let one hand maintain her hold on the rock face while the other fired the whip that Fox had called "Paralyzer." It enfolded around the claws of one skeleton and she threw it around into the others, causing each to shatter into a pile of bones. Renee flung the one in Paralyzer's bind to the ground, and it shattered as well.

"That was easy," she murmured. Suddenly, she felt herself slip. Her feet no longer pressed against the cliff's side. Her single hand barely held her there. Quickly, she attempted to stuff Paralyzer's barrel into her pocket and grab the rocks. Too late. Her other hand released and she fell the short distance to the ground.

"Ow..." she muttered, almost silently. While she stood and brushed herself off, she heard the odd sound again. Turning, she saw that the skeletons were back on their feet, fully fixed. "You...you must be joking...!" Renee cried weakly and pressed her back to the cliff wall as they advanced toward her. She then saw what looked like an energy ray hit the one in front, breaking it. Something dashed by, almost without being seen. It hit the rest and they each crumbled into a pile of bones.

Falco had appeared on one side of the group in a crouch. Had he really sped by that quickly? He walked over to one heap, picked up two of the bones, and gave them a hard toss so they flew out of sight. From the same pile, he crushed a bone under his foot.

He looked over at Renee. "What are you waiting for? Get your butt in gear before the rest get back up."

Startled by the sudden demand, she began to repeat Falco's actions rather slowly. She increased her pace as she continued. "Why are we doing this?"

"Why do you think? They can't assemble if they don't have all the parts," Falco replied crossly.

Once they had finished-it really didn't take long-Renee fixated on the bone fragments that remained. "What...were those things?"

"They're called Dry Bones. Annoying little twerps," Falco muttered.

"One more question," Renee continued. "What made you decide to drop in?"

"After I got rid of you, I figured I may as well track down Wario. Well, I did. He was talking to Bowser, saying something about 'the girl that got away.' Bowser said he'd take care of her himself. I figured they were talking about you. And let's be honest, you're annoying, but I'd feel a bit guilty if you got slaughtered."

"So does that mean you came to help?"

"You could say that. I just wanted to make sure Bowser gets what's coming to him." he answered.

By now, it had gotten much calmer around the area. Sonic and Fox drove off what remained of the koopas. For now, they were all in the clear. Renee noticed this as Falco did.

"...If that's all you're here for," she said quietly. "then it looks like you're a little late."

He shot her a glare. "I can see that," she retorted and avoided her eyes. He clearly wasn't too happy about his delay.

She was about to say something to him, but a thudding sound from nearby had alarmed her. The rest noticed it as well and easily found the source. Everyone directed their attention to the top of the cliff. Renee stood in fear while the others readied themselves for another fight. Bowser stood above them, clutching the handles of a dark cannon.

"It was never going to be that easy for you," he growled. In his scaly paws, the dark cannon charged its shot. The black arrow flew from it without warning, and hit Falco hard enough to send him out of sight. Renee watched feebly. Instinctively, she had pulled Paralyzer out when Bowser was spotted. It could be used for another purpose. She fired, and the whip wrapped around Bowser's cannon. She pulled down and brought it to the ground. Sonic rushed forward and kicked it into the air. Fox fired at it several times. Small blasts pushed pieces of the device away until it was utterly useless.

Furious, Bowser opened his mouth and blew flames in their direction. Sonic jumped and gave him a hard kick, causing him to pull out for a moment. He swiped his claws angrily at the hedgehog. Fox watched, but not for long. He climbed up with ease and joined the attack. Renee witnessed from below, yelping when she noticed her shirt had caught a small flame.

While she patted it out, the fight above continued. Bowser made a grab for Fox. However, the tyrant wasn't fast enough. Fox dashed by him at an incredible speed; it was the same move Falco had shown earlier. As Bowser turned around to attack again, Fox met him with a hard kick to the chest. Bowser staggered back, but lunged forward in an attempt to flatten his assailant. Fox dashed right past again, leaving the heavyweight to hit the ground.

Sonic struck him repeatedly with a spinning attack while Renee began to climb up. She watched as Bowser pushed Sonic away from him and stomped off as fast as his short, scaly legs would carry him.

"Th...that's right, you overgrown turtle!" Renee snapped. "You'd better run!"

"Heh, you call that running?" Sonic asked.

Ignoring a slight impulse to pursue Bowser, Renee sighed and turned to the others. "Well...now what? What's more important, finding Falco, or the Dragoon? Either way, it looks like one's going to have to wait..."

Sonic was silent for only a second before offering a reply. "Not necessarily. I've got an idea," he answered and glimpsed at Fox. "Think you could get her to the Pokemon Stadium in one piece?"

"I don't see why not. Why exactly are you guys looking for the Dragoon anyway?" Fox asked.

Sonic began to explain their plan to board the Halberd, running into detail he hadn't talked over with Renee. She simply stood idly by and waited for him to stop talking.

"Got it?"

"A bit much, but yeah," Fox answered. "But why the Pokemon Stadium?"

"Red has one of the pieces. Or at least that's what I've heard," Sonic said. "See, Renee? We don't have to put anything on hold. Fox here can help you out with our boarding plan, and I can keep an eye out for Falco."

Renee thought about this. Sonic was clearly fast enough to find Falco in a short time, perhaps within minutes. Plus, if he trusted Fox enough to take her to the first Dragoon piece, then there was no reason she shouldn't trust him as well. Still, something made her hesitate. "Oh...I don't know," she responded uneasily. " How exactly would-"

"Never said you had any other options. We're going for effectiveness, y'know." Sonic interrupted.

Renee frowned at him, He smiled and took off at incredible speed. "Good luck!" he called. She shook her head as he disappeared over the horizon.

"Have you _ever _known someone so impulsive, Fox? ...Fox?"

"You coming?"

She looked over in time to see her new ally scale a hill near the cliff and stop in a patch of ruins.

"Uh, yeah! Hang on..." she called and ran after him. "You're pretty fast, y'know that?"

The two set off once she'd caught her breath. No one spoke until they were well past the ruins. "So," Fox began. "you know my name already. I guess I didn't bother to remember yours. Sorry about that."

"That's alright. My name is Renee."

Silence once more.

They remained that way for a few more minutes before Fox spoke again. "Alright, before we go any further, I have to know why you're here. Something tells me you aren't local."

Without a second thought, she began to explain how she arrived on the planet. Fox didn't seem entirely interested. "And after that, I convinced Falco to show me around a bit, I guess..." she finished. "Oh, uh, I've got a question for you, too. It's about a guy named Meta Knight."

Fox shook his head and began to walk. "I don't think I could tell you much," he sighed.

Keeping a curious eye on him, Renee followed. "Please, just hear me out. Sonic told me a bit about him. What exactly did he do to deceive everyone?"

At first, he was hesitant. When he at last began to explain, he didn't look at her. "It was a while ago, maybe about three years, when the ruler of Subspace fell. About a month afterward, one of my crew members suggested we check in on some of our allies from the incident. We had just arrived in a place called Altea when we learned that one of them went missing. While discussing a search, we spotted someone. And yes, it was Meta Knight. We asked him to help us out. Next thing we know, he boards the Halberd and assigns an army of Waddle Doo to our case." Once he was finished, he picked up his pace.

Gradually, Renee began to feel sorry for him. He and his allies had been betrayed, after all. She was about to say something when Fox unknowingly interrupted her.

"By the way..." He reached into a concealed pocket on his clothing and handed her a small device. It was transparent, circular, and had a dark and extending cross towards its bottom left curve. "I'm sure you can find more of a use for this than I can," Fox told her. "It's called a Smash Ball."

"...But it's more of a disk," Renee pointed out. "How do I even use it?"

"If you carry it with you, it charges with excess energy from anything close," Fox clarified. "All you really have to do is break it when it's fully charged."

With curiosity, Renee inspected and rolled it around in her hands. "Well, alright. Thank you," she said, still unsure.

However, she had one more question, much to Fox's dismay. "Why are you even coming with me in the first place?"

He shrugged at first, then his expression grew stern. "Aside from Sonic saying I had to, there's someone that I'm looking for."

"Are they missing?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I got a little carried away, and the next thing I knew-"

"They were gone?" Renee interrupted.

"You got it. If we're lucky," Fox pondered. "then we should come across where they might have been taken. If not, I'm sure I can call in a favor from you to help out. Basically, I help you now, you help me later. Deal?"

"...Deal."


End file.
